Taking a late class wasn't his first choice, but Theo was required to include a history lesson on his schedule, and the only one available was an ancient history course that started late in the evening. Ancient history was broken up before and after the war of the Majari, the two most fundamental periods before the start of stormfall. He would've preferred studying something more recent. Still though, there was some interesting things to be learned. All this history was handed down by the existing Majari, the ones who were currently working hard to project the barrier and maintain their own private domains. According to his mother, the Majari were a biased and spent resource. They were a useful relic of the past, and they kept most knowledge of the ancient world to themselves.
The 'divine will' was never Theo's favorite subject. There simply wasn't enough information about it. The subsequent lessons of the Majari, the wars between Zorn and Lavoitise, and the war of wrath with Vermacht were all more interesting. Especially the stories of Lavoitise, the lesser god who introduced magic to the mortal races. Listening to the teachers lectures about it drove him to want to know more. He was always fascinated with magic, and he hoped its origins might offer a clue as to which Majari had blessed him with his own.
Humans did not have a natural affinity for magic, unlike other demi-humans who were, according to the Majari, corrupted in the past to use it. Instead, the Majari loaned some of their power to chosen humans in hopes they might be put to good use. Theo's own magical capabilities came at an early age, and he always wondered which Majari had become his patron. He never found the answer, even after years of inquiry, and never stopped wondering.
Theo sat toward the center of the class, listening to the lecture, and tried his damnest not to stare at the professor's chest. Attractive was just one word to describe the older woman with her sandy colored skin, wispy brown hair, and dark blue eyes. She had a narrow chin, sharp cheek bones, and a cute smile that defied her age. Despite the crows feet along the corners of her eyes, she had a look about her that… Theo sighed. It was the boobs. The boobs were the thing that struck him the most. And yes, they were beautiful…
The professor strode back and forth in front of them, marking and highlighting notes on a magical board hovering above the class. She had to adjust her glasses with every couple of steps. Her breasts jiggled in her blouse, making it even harder to concentrate on anything else.
The other students sitting around him were bored out of their mind; one struggled to stay awake, the other was fading in-and-out. To his right sat a Thrashballer, a star athlete with his dark gray varsity jacket over his student uniform. He was strangely interested, but it was clear he needed more coffee. To his left, a shorter stockier guy sat back with his legs crossed. He was on the verge of snoring. In front of him, a lamia curled around her seat; she was clutching a thermos. Evidently, she was struggling to stay warm, the school uniform wasn't doing a good enough job.
"And thus, the arrogance of Lavoitise taught magic to the mortal races in defiance of the divine." The teachers voice was sublime, fluid, and elegant; it made Theo wonder just what district she grew up in. "Lavoitise desired to instill them with power, and in turn, harvest that power for her own use. But her designs corrupted them instead. Sprites became Cubi, Naga turned into Lamia, and the sacred Lupins are now the wolfkin races we all know today. The Oni, once masters of the higher plane, lost their places in the sky, becoming what we now know as Orcs. And those are to name a few. Even humans were once very different, our original form lost to history. In fact, even the elves were affected by Lavoitise's meddling."
Theo looked over to where the orc demi-humans sat. The men were easily twice his size, their school uniforms stretched tightly across their broad chests and most had gone sleeveless. Even those with only mixed ancestry were larger than the average human, sporting green or reddish colored skin. There were a couple women amongst them; some with only a little orcish ancestry, others were very much as close to pure blooded as one could get. Most were roughly the size of a standard human male, with slender bodies and sinewy long arms and legs. The shortest of them sat in the corner with dark red skin and dark hair the color of midnight. She was clearly of mixed blood, but found herself sitting amongst her cousins.
Of all the demi-human races, orcs were probably the most ostracized from general society. Given their heritage and the nature of their magical affinity, Theo couldn't blame them. It was well known that orcs grew more powerful, growing larger, by dominating others. Raping others actually made them stronger, and in times of war, they used this to full affect.
The teacher continued speaking.
"As the right hand of Zorn, Lavoitise hoped to sap the very power now fueling the veins of all the mortal races, and by doing so, she would gain power to question the divine! Zorn assumed she would share this power with him but feared potential betrayal." She paused, the magical board adjusting to show a map of the world before the storms. Topographical features expanded, showing a world of multiple continents separated by vast oceans. Theo struggled understanding just how large the world was beyond the walls, especially when there was no reference, even on a world map, to indicate distances. There was no guarantee that the world even looked the same now. Outside of limited supply routes, no one had an accurate map since the storms came. "Neither considered another of the Majari would accelerate that very same scheme on his own and then go even farther. The rise of the great devourer Vermacht shook the world to its very core and was perhaps the start of the divines punishments."
"But what about the other Majari? And what were sprites?" The voice belonged to another student. Theo looked over, noticing the young girl, a freshman like himself, who was busy jotting down notes. She was another mixed breed, a human with succubi origins. She had a lithe frame, a pair of glasses laying crookedly over the bridge of her nose, and short brown hair. With only a succubi tail to hint at her mixed heritage, she looked very much human with her tanned skin and plain features.
Theo couldn't help but wonder if she had inherited any other attributes aside from the tail.
The professor seemed pleased that at least one of her students was paying attention. "Sprites were elegant and mystical creatures, similar to elves, and with great—"
"Shut it, filthy arrow tail," someone interrupted.
There were some laughs, a couple of grunts, and one very icy stare from the professor to whoever interrupted her. Theo looked to the side, trying to seek out the source of the noise. It was impossible to discern just who had thrown out the insult. The girl, meanwhile, sank deeper into her seat, seemingly afraid to stick out.
"Continuing," the professor tried to take back control. "Ultimately, the devourer was defeated, his body and soul shattered into millions of fragments that scattered across the world."
The lesson dragged on for another hour before, finally, the lecture was over, and Theo got to close his textbooks. His back was killing him, and his legs were stiff. He could feel the blood rushing back to his feet when he got back up.
Just as he was about to leave, Theo noticed another classmate, a Retisant woman no less, shoving the cubi girl aside before she could get out of her seat. She then 'accidentally' slid the girls purse off the desk so that its contents spilled out onto the floor. After a crude apology, she then strode away, leaving the poor girl aside to pick up her belongings.
Without thinking, Theo walked over to help her up and even moved to pick up some of her things.
"You don't have to do that!" Her voice was shallow.
Theo noted her bashful expression. She obviously felt embarrassed and wouldn't look him in the eye. It almost reminded him of someone else.
"Don't worry, it's no problem." He tried to sound confident, but was worried he might have come across a bit strong.
"I don't want to be a problem. You're not mad at me too, are you?"
"Why would I be…" Theo was shocked by the insinuation.
She rushed to collect all her things, and as soon as everything was in order, she offered him a short bow. "Thank you," she stammered and then quickly skirted away.
Theo sighed to himself, then felt something was off. He could practically feel another set of eyes stabbing at the back of his head. He looked around and saw a fellow student; the way he looked, with that sneer on his face, was more than enough to project his malice. It was clear that he wasn't happy about him helping the other girl. Theo also couldn't help but notice some of the women were giving him leering looks as well. They surrounded the Retisant who had picked on her, and she seemed particularly annoyed with him.
The brute was about to say something, but Theo had had enough. He looked him in the eye, matching his hostile glare for glare, and released a potent burst of energy from the pool of mana in his very soul. He called it 'sight-eater', one of the many aspects of his shadow magic. With eye-to-eye line of sight contact, he could blind whoever looked at him. It was only temporary, and really drained him, but it was worth it in this situation.
There were many nuances with his magic. He preferred using his ability to merely blind himself from their mind. That was a skill he liked to call 'ghost-whispering'. With the same sight-to-sight connection, he could make it so people simply couldn't register his physical presence. It was far less straining to do and lasted a lot longer. With just these two abilities, he could get around unseen rather easily. And while it was just two of the skills afforded to him, those were his go too's when dealing with trouble.
But there was something about this situation that really pissed him off. Using sight-eater, he wanted to make this guy hurt.
"You bastard, what did you do!" The bully stammered, while trying to rub his eyes. That wouldn't work.
Theo smirked and strode away, leaving him behind to his frustration. He ignored the small group of women who were leering, they weren't worth his attention.
Using magic in class was always frowned upon, even subject to punishment at times, which was why he wanted to get out as soon as possible before anyone ran the professor and made any complaints. Just as soon as he stepped outside into the hallway, another caught his attention.
"Interesting. I wondered just what you could do." A voice caught him by surprise.
Theo froze. "Shit…" He noticed Sophia waiting by the side of the door. Her hair was actually combed this time, and she even had applied some make up. By all appearances, she was not about to do something completely ruthless…
"What are you…" He started.
"Sssh," she arched forward, placing a finger on his lips. "Be careful, wouldn't want to attract any more attention. Would you?"
"What do you want?" Theo couldn't help but wonder if, somehow, this devious creature set that whole thing up.
The red-haired elf lingered for a few seconds, judging him. "Lots of things, repetitively." She then strode away, as if daring him to follow.
"Nope, not messing with that," he whispered to himself. Ignoring her, Theo walked away, deciding to go down the hall in the opposite direction.
Nearby, the other girl with the cubi tail watched with her purse close to her chest.
***
Outside, just beyond the wall, a string of wind began to descend, birthed from a storm that had been waging for over a thousand years. As it slowly reached down, its curvature twisting like a devils finger, it quickly started scratching at the barriers surface.